Likely loss of St Ledger for qualifiers leaves Trapattoni on lookout for replacement

When Marco Tardelli hailed Paddy Madden as "the future" yesterday it seemed safe to assume that he was thinking in terms of the medium or long term. A more pressing problem is who might play at the back against Sweden and Austria in a few weeks after Leicester City all but confirmed that Sean St Ledger is out of both games.

Manager Giovanni Trapattoni had to cope for much of last season without the centre-half but anticipated having him back to full fitness for the autumn before a knee injury sustained in training last Friday forced him out of the squad for tomorrow’s game against Wales. Now Leicester manager Nigel Pearson says that test results show the injury is fairly serious and that, with just three and a half weeks to go to the Sweden game, the 28-year-old is looking at the guts of a month on the sidelines.

“I’m told he will be out for about six weeks,” Pearson actually said initially. “It’s disappointing for him, but that’s football.

"I suppose, historically, he's been a relatively quick healer," he added, however, "so I suppose six weeks is being a bit pessimistic, it might be three or four."

Weigh up alternatives
Even that won't be soon enough for Trapattoni and so he will again have to weigh up his alternatives for a partner for John O'Shea in central defence. The return of Richard Dunne remains a possibility if he can nail down a regular starting place for QPR but Ciaran Clark, Darren O'Dea and Stephen Kelly are the most likely candidates otherwise with the Italian's team selection for tomorrow night likely to provide an indication of his thinking on the matter.

Tardelli, meanwhile, seems particularly upbeat about Madden, the Yeovil striker whose fortunes have been utterly transformed in the space of a year. The Dubliner started last season warming the bench for Carlisle United and was pondering a return to the Airtricity League before opting instead for a loan move to Huish Park where his remarkable run of goals went a long way towards securing the club promotion to the Championship for the first time.

“It just shows you the ups and downs of football,” said a clearly delighted Madden yesterday. “At Carlisle, I wasn’t really enjoying it because I wasn’t really playing but if you keep working hard then you will get the rewards.”

The 23-year-old, who supported Manchester United as a child, admitted to feeling a little star struck while training with John O’Shea but he didn’t look out of place and Tardelli sang his praises after the session in Newport.

“He played well in training but I’ve seen him many times and he’s a good player,” said the Italian. “He has a good attitude with quality. I think he is the future. He’s very quick and a clever player. He finds the moment to receive the ball and he runs well into space. It’s good and I like him. He’s a new option and a good one.”

A fractionally older one who is trying to revitalise his challenge for a regular place in the team is James McClean who trained with the squad yesterday for the first time after having been involved for Wigan against Manchester United in the Community Shield on Sunday.

The Derryman’s future at Sunderland had looked pretty uncertain after new manager Paolo Di Canio signed Emanuele Giaccherini – who plays in McClean’s position – from Juventus but the 24-year-old insists that it was he who decided his future lay elsewhere and that he had come to the conclusion well before the summer.

“I know it’s been said that Sunderland got rid of me; that they wanted to sell me, but that’s not actually the case. Last season I went in to see the manager, sat down and told him the truth – which is that I wanted to leave. And, fair play to him, he understood and they didn’t stand in my way. I just needed to play regular football and I felt it was time for a fresh start and a clean slate. And I think I’ve got that now.”

Owen Coyle’s enthusiasm and the prospect of being a regular again cushioned the blow of dropping out of the Premier League. “Wigan is a club looking forward. I know they got relegated last season but the manager has assembled a good squad and there’s Europe after the FA Cup win. So it was the right move at this stage in my career and I’m looking forward to get back to playing football.”